Manchester United will reportedly be allowed to play in Europe next season even if French outfit Nice qualify for the Europa League through their final position in Ligue 1.
There had been concerns over Man United's involvement in Europe during the 2024-25 campaign due to UEFA's rules on multi-club ownership, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who has just become a minority shareholder of the Red Devils, owning Nice via his INEOS group.
According to the Daily Mail, the 20-time English champions have been told by UEFA that they will be able to take part in next season's Europa League even if Nice qualify for the same competition.
The report claims that Man United would not be excluded from the same tournament as Nice providing that certain conditions are met.
Erik ten Hag's side would allegedly have until June 3 to show that 'they do not share any joint management of administrative functions' with Nice, which is unlikely to be too much of an issue, as Ratcliffe has only just become a minority shareholder of the English giants.
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Man United are currently sixth in the Premier League table, which may see them qualify for the 2024-25 Europa League, while Nice occupy fifth in the Ligue 1 table, which would also see them qualify for the group stage of next season's Europa League.
Last month, Ratcliffe insisted that there would be no problem with Man United and Nice competing in the same competition next season.
"No, there are no circumstances upon which an ownership of Nice would prevent Manchester United from playing in the Champions League. I'll be crystal clear on that," the Manchester Evening News quotes him as saying.
"It says you have to change the ownership structure, you know. So it's all about influence and positions on the board and that sort of thing. A: the rules are changing, and B: there are shades of grey not black and white. Manchester City will probably have the problem before we have the problem because they've obviously got Girona.
"We have spoken to UEFA and I have to say the conversation wasn't directed at, 'you have to solve this problem and you know we don't like it'. We have an issue and we might have to change some things. But what they do recognise is that the multi-club model in many circumstances benefits the smaller club quite a lot.
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Ratcliffe confident Man United, Nice can play in same competition
"They do have a concern that if they stop the multi-club model then you take away quite a lot from the smaller club. Because the smaller club benefits a lot from the bigger club. So that's a good thing.
"But what they're worried about is if there's ever an accusation that somebody influences the result of a game - lack of integrity. That's the most concerning thing.
"We've never spent time really understanding the benefits of a multi-club. But we've got Omar obviously, who's been intimately involved in a really successful multi-club, which is Manchester City. So we need to spend a bit of time with Omar trying to understand it a bit better before we finish up with a view.
"I think my inclination is positive towards multi-clubs, not negative towards multi-clubs. We haven't spent enough time understanding all the details of it yet. Also, the UEFA thing is changing so you have to do it in the light of where you think UEFA is going to finish up, what the handicaps are. There are obviously handicaps involved."
Man United are nine points off fifth-placed Tottenham in the Premier League, while Nice are six points from fourth-place Monaco in Ligue 1, with both teams still having an outside chance of securing Champions League football for next term.
Matt Law
